Thapa shines as Nepalgunj lift title

KATHMANDU, Jan 12: Region No 5 (Nepalgunj) won the title of Wai Wai Women´s National Cricket Tournament as skipper Nery Thapa gave an all-round performance to beat Region No 6 (Baitadi) by 37 runs in the final match played at the TU Cricket Ground on Wednesday.

Nepalgunj put up 85/6 runs in allotted 20 overs and bundled out Baitadi for 48 runs in 19.2 overs.

Rawal charismatic bowling continued to trap Trishna Singh (9 runs) in lbw and bowled Sita Shahi. However, skipper Thapa absorbed all the pressure and anchored Nepalgunj innings with unbeaten 37 runs off 46 balls. Thapa was the only batswoman to score in double digits for Nepalgunj. Baitadi gave away 18 runs as extras in the low scoring final match.

In the run chase, Baitadi failed to build up partnership and not any batswoman anchored the innings. Rekha Rawal scored 16 runs off 30 balls and she was unfortunate to be a run out victim. Four batswomen were out for ducks while three others contributed only one run each.

Thapa, Sita Rana Magar and Samana Pun claimed two wickets each to limit Baitadi just for 48 runs and pull off a 37-run victory in the low scoring final.
Winners Nepalgunj won the trophy and cash prize of Rs 25,000 while runners-up Baitadi bagged Rs 15,000.

Woman of the final Thapa also received two other awards — player of the series and best bowler of the tournament. Thapa not only scored 111 runs from five matches but also took 11 wickets with the economy of 1.35.

Thapa received Rs 15,000 in total for the three awards, each with the worth of Rs 5,000.

Madhu Thapa of Region No 4 (Bhairahawa) scored 157 runs in the tournament from four matches and won the best batswoman award of Rs 5,000.